JP-A-2004-94312 describes a related-art printer. The printer includes a receiving unit which receives a print job, a printing unit which executes a printing process to print an image on a recording medium based on the print job received by the receiving unit, and a suspending unit which suspends the printing process based on suspension information added to the print job.
The related-art printer having such a configuration is capable of suspending a printing process as shown in the example described below.
That is, when a user transmits a print job, which includes confidential content, from a computer to the printer, the print job is added to suspension information. In this case, in the printer, the receiving unit receives the print job added with suspension information, and the suspending unit suspends a printing process based on the suspension information. In the meantime, if the user cancels suspension of the printing process after the user moves from an installation place of the computer to an installation place of the printer, the printing unit re-starts the printing process based on the print job. Accordingly, the user can securely acquire a recording medium on which an image is printed, that is, printed matter. Thus, with the printer, it becomes possible to prevent other users from looking at the printed matter on which confidential content is printed, or to prevent other users from erroneously taking it away.
In the related-art printer described above, it may be possible to securely prevent other users from looking at a printed matter on which confidential information is printed. However, when a specified printing process is suspended before the printing unit starts a printing process based on a print job, in other words, when the printing process is suspended in a state where no page is printed, a waiting time of a user from re-start of the printing process to an end of the printing process may become longer.
For this reason, it is considerable that the printing process is suspended after a part of the printing process is executed when the printing unit starts the printing process based on a print job. In this case, the waiting time of a user from a re-start of the printing process to an end of the printing process can be shortened. However, in this case, since the printer becomes in a standby state during suspension of the printing process, other users mistakenly conclude that the printing process has finished, and therefore, the other users may take away printed matter that is halfway printed.